galauganda

‘Hate Speech’

The CPR article 20 provides;

‘Any advocacy of national, racial or religion hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility shall be prohibited by law’

In Uganda, homosexual relationships being illegal as is, it is difficult for us to have gathering to demand for the rights of speech, expression and assembly yet we are entitled to the right like all parties.

Correlative with the principle of palpable harm is the right to be different. This concept, which is more specific expression of classical notion of liberty, was affirmed by the  General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its twentieth session on the 27^th November 1978 in the Declaration of Race and Racial Prejudice.

 

‘All individuals have the right to be different, to consider themselves as different and to be regarded as such’

By criminalizing homosexual relationships, the law is also taking way a person’s right to be different.

Straight or gay, a great many adults sooner or later get the urge to settle down with a mate and raise a family. Our Constitution at article

The amendment says that "marriage is lawful only if entered into between a man and a woman" and specifies that "it is unlawful for same-sex couples to marry"
Before that amendment,
Rights of the family.
31. (1) Men and women of the age of eighteen years and above, have the right to marry and to found a family and are entitled to equal rights in marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
32. (I) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, the State shall take affirmative action in favour of groups marginalised on the basis of gender, age, disability or any other reason created by history, tradition or custom, for the purpose of redressing imbalances which exist against them.
(2) Parliament shall make relevant laws, including laws for the establishment of an equal opportunities commission, for the purpose of giving full effect to clause (1) of this article.
Please understand the above phases.

 

Article 21 provides;

 

(1)‘All persons are equal before and under the law in all sphere of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other aspect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law.

(2)‘Without prejudice to clause (1) of the article, a person shall not be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, colour , ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion or economic standing, political opinion or disability’

 

We gays here we are discriminated against on the basis of our sexuality, in that the Penal Law criminalizes homosexuality when basically the different between the homosexual and a heterosexual is our sexuality. This is discrimination on the basis of sex, contrary to the constitutional provisions of Article 21.

 

Homosexuals like any other people we are entitled to our basic rights human rights, rights that are inherited, not granted by the state and are enshrined in the international bill of rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and also found in the constitutions of many of many countries. Human Rights jurisprudence, internationally and in regional and domestic systems that respects human rights, recognizes these freedoms as nearly absolute. Derogation should be construed narrowly and deemed legitimate only where the necessity is clear.

 

Homosexuality is not just a given, but an orientation as well, a right too. Thus it does not merit the harsh legal and social punishment on person practicing it.